Indiana lawmakers move against local budget hoarding

By staff and wire services reports

January 17th, 2011

According to Reuters, Indiana state legislators will work to amend laws that allow local governments to stash hundreds of millions of dollars in reserves, even as the state attempts to boost its lagging economy and prevent cuts in education spending, lawmakers said on Sunday. Officials confirmed that Indiana townships, which are micro units of government that range in size from hundreds to several hundred thousand residents, had retained nearly $300 million in cash reserves at the end of 2009. Estimates have put that number north of the $300 million range for 2010, although no official numbers are available…